A Weakness in the Family
by Emmy Kay
Summary: Madame Le Bel reflects on her life. Warnings: spoilers for the BBL route of the game.


Title: A Weakness in the Family

Claimer/Author: This story is written by and belongs to Emmy Kay.

Summary: Madame Le Bel reflects on her life. Warnings: spoilers for the BBL route of the game.

Notes: Written for a prompt on the hatofulkink meme.

Disclaimer: Yuuya and all affiliated characters belong to Moa Hato/PigeoNation Inc. This story is written without permission and for personal/fan/nonprofit entertainment purposes only.

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Prompt: _Mr & Mrs Le Bel. Hatesex._

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Someone said, "Madame Le Bel?"

Then, louder, they repeated, "Madame?"

"Oh!" she fluttered in nervous alarm, coming to awareness. "Yes?"

It wasn't the title that was the problem. It was the name. She had yet to get used to the name, after all these years. In her mind, she was still the blushing bride of a dashing young soldier. Not the matron of the most established Le Bel family.

Ever since she had been hatched, she had dreamed of a strong, handsome male to take her away. Like so many other young girls. What was most surprising was that she had found him, a lieutenant in the army. Rather, he had found her after having, of all things, accidentally sprained her ankle in front of him, just before he was to carry a message to his superior officer. He had delivered her back to her home, promising to return. It had seemed like ages, but he had returned to her, homing in on her location as he had promised.

Like some ill-bred hussy, she had flown the coop with him. Away from her restrictive family, away from the marriage that had been arranged for her, away to where they thought they could never be found. And they had been happy. Happier than she had ever thought possible. Her Lieutenant's star was rising in the army. Their domestic arrangements, while primitive, was all she could have coped with. They had a chick and another on the way. It was like a dream, one from which she never wanted to wake.

Then the terrible thing happened. The accident. Her lovely, strong soldier had died. The messenger pigeons presented her with a woodenly worded apology from a grateful nation, and they had left. The strain of bearing such terrible news left her weak, causing her to lay her egg early. The dream was over.

She had contacted her family, hoping for some help. Instead, Monsieur Le Bel came. The rich, well-established cock from a good family her parents had arranged for her to marry, a lifetime ago.

He had made her an offer. One that seemed impossible for any civilized creature to make. He would care for her. But there was a catch. Monsieur only intended on supporting herself and Yuuya, the hatchling, not the egg.

It was a terrible choice. One no mother should be forced to make. She held onto the egg for as long as possible, incubating it, urging the chick inside to emerge early and force the issue. To no avail. Monsieur had run out of patience.

She had accepted, even though it was something no rational creature should. She knew she wasn't strong. She had never been. She knew she wasn't very bright. She hadn't ever been trained to work. She wouldn't have been able to support herself, never mind two young birds.

Desperate, distraught, she had taken the egg, that last tie between herself and her first husband, intending to dispose of it. She didn't know how she was going to do it. Only that she must. Yuuya had intercepted her. Good Yuuya, strong Yuuya, Yuuya, the image of his father. She wasn't even certain if he understood what he had offered to do for her.

She was ashamed of herself, but she let Yuuya do it. They never spoke of it again.

She was weak, but she had gained security for herself and her eldest with the modest tools she had. She had entered the gilded cage and shut the door behind her.

Monsieur had been determined to breed her as soon as possible. She bore it as best she could. He preferred her to remain still and silent during the act. She supposed he thought it was the way well-bred pigeons behaved - accepting and passive. She had seen Monsieur's judgement on other hens. He was not kind.

It was just as well. She could never be a love-struck, wanton creature again, not the way she had been with her Lieutenant.

Sometimes, she looked at Sakuya, and could have sworn she saw the resemblance to Yuuya, and to her first husband. But she must be mistaken. She was glad to be. She clung to this resemblance, this illusion of similarity. She wanted to love this squab, do right by it in a way she couldn't that last egg. She could only do it if she were pretending it was her Lieutenant's child. Not Monsieur's.

She knew that Monsieur thought that the weakness in Yuuya was because of his flawed breeding. She was afraid he was right. She knew the flaw was because of her.

"Madame Le Bel?"

She stood up and followed the young staff person through mirrored halls, catching sight of herself dozens of times over.

She was no longer as attractive as she had been; her feathers had thinned and lost some of their youthful luster, her flesh had grown tougher with time. If it meant that Monsieur visited her boulin less frequently, she was glad of it. She wanted no more children to break her heart.

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**Notes:**

boulin=pigeon hole, French. The dovecote interior, the space granted to the pigeons, is divided into a number of boulins. Each boulin is the lodging of a pair of pigeons. - wikipedia


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